The Pinellas County Council PTA/PTSA wants parents at the table before the next round of school closures.

The organization sent a letter to Superintendent Kevin Hendrick and school board members asking the district to create committees that would give families and community members a voice before future closures and consolidations are recommended, Spectrum Bay News 9 reported.

What the PTA is proposing

The proposal calls for three regional committees covering North, Mid-County and South Pinellas, according to Raegan Miller, the organization's vice president of leadership. Each committee would include parents, educators, PTA representatives and other community members. Their role: review potential changes and provide input before recommendations reach the school board.

The letter is a direct response to the district's Planning for Progress initiative, which led the board to vote 6-1 on Oct. 13 to close six schools and consolidate others. Kings Highway Elementary, Blanton Elementary, Bear Creek Elementary and Lealman Innovation Academy are among the schools slated to close at the end of the 2026-27 school year, according to WTSP. Board member Lisa N. Cane cast the only vote against the plan.

Sunset Hills Elementary in Tarpon Springs was not closed outright but was a late addition to the restructuring. The board voted to move its students to Tarpon Springs Middle School, creating a K-8 school.

What families are saying

"The biggest theme I feel is that we were blindsided, especially our school," said Melissa Torres, a parent at Sunset Hills Elementary whose daughter attends the school.

Torres said families did not know who was representing them during the process.

Miller said the district held community meetings over the summer but did not tell families which specific schools could be affected. The meetings covered declining birth rates, underutilized facilities and enrollment challenges in general terms, she said.

"They talked about low utilization, and declining birth rates, and what things look like, but they never talked about specific schools or potential alternatives," Miller said.

The PTA pointed to Miami-Dade County Public Schools as a model. That district has an established attendance boundary committee process that allows community participation when changes are being considered. The Pinellas PTA argued in its letter that a similar approach could improve transparency and rebuild trust.

How the district has responded

Superintendent Hendrick has said closures are necessary. Forty-five county public schools sit below 60% capacity, and 41 elementary schools have enrollment below 300, according to WUSF. He said the consolidations could save $25 million a year.

The Pinellas County Council PTA said it had not heard back from the superintendent or any board member as of Oct. 28. Spectrum Bay News 9 reported that Pinellas County Schools was unavailable for comment.